Empire Axe Review

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Empire Axe Review

The Empire Axe is a high quality tournament level paintball marker that was released in 2011. Retailing at around $450 (see lowest price), it is a marker that scores high in many important categories. The Empire Axe is loosely based on the Empire Mini but has a lot of new upgrades and features that makes it so much better than the Mini. It competes against similar markers such the Dye Proto Reflex Rail. A lot of players in the tournament paintball scene agree that the Axe is a very good paintball gun that is worth more than its retail price. But what makes the Axe such a good speedball marker? Let’s take a close look at the strengths and weaknesses of the Axe. This Empire Axe review will help you decide for yourself if you want to buy it or not.

Strengths

Small frame and body

On/Off ASA makes it easy to remove and attach tank

Shoots Quiet

Very good ergonomics

Very light

Good value for its price

Very Accurate

Tool-less Bolt Removal System

Weaknesses

Stock barrel isn’t accurate at all times

Custom size O-Rings

Features that Make the Empire Axe Stand Out

Below are some things which we thought makes the Empire Axe stand out from the crowd.

ON/OFF Relay ASA

One of the standout features of the Empire Axe is the Empire ON/OFF ASA. Coming from the Empire Mini GS where there was no ON/OFF ASA, it made a world of difference when removing and reattaching the tank. If you have ever used anything other than an ON/OFF ASA, you know how frustrating it can be sometimes.

Good Ergonomics

The Empire Axe feels really good on the hands and is light enough that running around a lot will not make it feel heavy. Compared to the Empire Mini, the Empire Axe has a lot more room in the grips to let players hold it in different ways. The Axe was designed with an internal gas line. This means you can smoothly change hands without hitting gas line.

Superior Build Quality

The Axe is made of high quality aluminium and has a solid build. Once you pick up an Axe, you can tell Empire puts a lot of thought into designing and building their markers.As long as you properly lube it every 10,000 to 15,000 shots fired, the Axe will not break down or have a failure. The Axe’s reliability is one of the reasons it is so popular in professional tournaments and why many players swear by it.

Great Value

At the time of writing, the Empire Axe is currently retailing for around $450 and it is definitely worth way more than that. Compared to other tournament markers like the Planet Eclipse Geo 3.5, which retails for around $1,500, the Axe is definitely a steal. Even famous professional players like the players from Team Infamous use the Empire Axe with some upgraded parts.

The Empire Axe Has Rave Reviews

At the time of writing, the Empire Axe currently has 28 player reviews on Amazon with a score of 4.6 out of 5 stars. It is one of the most rated paintball markers online.

Empire Axe Performance

The Empire Axe shoots very smooth. This is also what many other players who have used the Axe for the first time say. You can barely feel any kick to it and the smaller marker size definitely helps lower any recoil. It is also super quiet. You can barely hear it even in an indoor field. After shooting off around 10 pods, the Empire Axe never had a single paint break.

The Axe was also very consistent right out of the box. In our field test, it chronos at around 285 fps. Right out of the box it was about +/- 8 fps but after about 5 pods, it dropped off to +/- 5 fps. With our usual Ninja 4500 PSI tank, we were able to fire off around 9 pods before the air gave out.

The Axe also has a fantastic stock trigger. It makes walking very easy. You can easily get up to 20 balls per second. The trigger is also 4 point adjustable and gives you your standard PSP settings.

Is the Empire Axe Easy to Take Apart and Clean?

Yes, with the new tool-less bolt removal system, it is ridiculously easy to remove the take out the bolt system for cleaning. All you have to do is to twist the knob at the end and pull the whole bolt system out. Taking apart the bolt guide and the bolt system is also fairly easy to do. You only have to unscrew the poppet valve from the bolt guide and add some lubricant to it then put the reassemble bolt system back into the body. It literally only took us 2 minutes to properly take apart and lube the Empire Axe when we were testing it.

There are also a ton of resources Empire Paintball provides to help you with any technical aspects you can’t figure out yourself. Here’s a video showing just how easy it is to maintain the Empire Axe.

Final Thoughts

The Empire Axe is fantastic paintball marker and has a value you can’t beat. It’s easy to maintain, fairly efficient, has great accuracy, is very light and can shoot very fast. The Axe is also used by many professional paintball teams and Empire has great customer service. These are all the reasons why it is one of our all time favorite paintball guns even years after its release. Hopefully, this Empire Axe review has give you all the information you need about the Empire Axe.

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Overview

Empire Axe Review The Empire Axe is a high quality tournament level paintball marker that was released in 2011. Retailing at around $450 (see lowest price), it is a marker that scores high in many important categories. The Empire Axe is loosely based on the Empire Mini but has a lot&hellip;